How to Make a Rent Agreement in India: 7 Steps

To make a rent agreement in India, agree the key terms with the other party, draft the agreement with those terms, print it on stamp paper or an e-stamp of the value your state requires, sign it with two witnesses, and register it at the Sub-Registrar if the term is 12 months or more. Most residential lets use 11 months to avoid compulsory registration.

This guide walks through how to make rent agreement documents step by step, in seven stages, with every field you will fill in explained, the laws behind each step (the Registration Act 1908, the Indian Stamp Act 1899, the Transfer of Property Act 1882 and the Model Tenancy Act 2021), a cost table, and the mistakes that most often make agreements useless when a dispute arises. It applies to landlords and tenants, with or without a broker.

Before you start: the 11-month question

Under section 17 of the Registration Act 1908 and section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882, a lease of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, must be made by a registered instrument. Registration means paying registration fees and stamp duty calculated on the lease and visiting the Sub-Registrar's office (or using your state's online registration where it exists). An 11-month agreement falls below that threshold, so in most states it only needs the correct stamp duty and signatures, and many people also have it notarised.

There are exceptions. In Maharashtra, section 55 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act 1999 requires every leave and licence agreement to be in writing and registered, whatever its length, which is why Mumbai and Pune agreements are registered online through the IGR system. Check your state's rule before choosing a term.

How to make rent agreement documents in 7 steps

Step 1: Agree the commercial terms

Before any drafting, landlord and tenant should agree the rent, the security deposit, the start date and term, the rent due date and payment method, the notice period, any lock-in period, who pays maintenance and utilities, the annual increase, and house rules such as pets or subletting. Writing these down in a short message first avoids arguments later. Under the Model Tenancy Act 2021, which only some states have adopted in their own laws, the security deposit for residential premises is capped at two months' rent; elsewhere it is set by agreement and local custom.

Step 2: Collect the details and documents

You will need the full legal names and permanent addresses of landlord and tenant, the complete address of the property, identity proof (Aadhaar, PAN, passport or voter ID) for both parties, proof of the landlord's ownership such as a property tax receipt or sale deed, and passport photos if the agreement will be registered. Two adult witnesses with ID are needed at signing.

Step 3: Draft the agreement

You can use a lawyer, a stamp vendor's standard template, or a generator. The fastest route is to create your rent agreement online with our free generator: choose India, fill the form, and the document updates as you type, then download it as a PDF. Nothing is uploaded; the data stays in your browser. The table below maps the generator's fields to what they mean in an Indian agreement.

After downloading, add any India-specific clauses you need, such as lock-in period, maintenance charges, painting on exit and an inventory of fittings. Our list of rent agreement clauses for India covers the ones that matter most.

Step 4: Pay stamp duty

Every rent agreement must bear stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act 1899 as amended by your state. Rates differ widely: some states charge a small fixed amount for short residential agreements, others a percentage of the total rent and deposit. You can buy physical non-judicial stamp paper from a licensed vendor, or pay online and print an e-stamp certificate. In many states e-stamping runs through the Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL) e-stamping portal. Our guide to e-stamp paper for rent agreements explains how to buy the right value.

Step 5: Print, sign and witness

Print the agreement on the stamp paper, or print it on plain paper and attach the e-stamp as the first page. Landlord and tenant sign at the end of the agreement and initial every page. Two witnesses sign with their names and addresses. Each party keeps an original.

Step 6: Notarise or register

For an 11-month agreement, notarisation is optional but common: a notary attests the signatures, which adds evidentiary weight. It does not replace registration where registration is compulsory. For 12 months or more, or in Maharashtra for any leave and licence agreement, both parties (or their authorised representatives) register it at the Sub-Registrar's office or through the state's online system, usually with Aadhaar-based identity verification and biometrics.

Step 7: Police verification and records

Many cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, expect landlords to complete tenant police verification, now usually possible online through the state police portal. Keep scanned copies of the agreement, ID proofs, the deposit receipt and the verification acknowledgement.

Cost and time to make a rent agreement

Exact stamp duty and registration fees are published by each state's registration and stamps department and change from time to time, so confirm the current figure before paying.

Notarised vs registered rent agreement

For a deeper comparison, see notarised vs registered rent agreement.

Adapting the agreement to your situation

The seven steps stay the same, but a few situations need extra care in the drafting.

• Shared flats and bachelors: name every tenant in the agreement, or make one tenant the lead and add the others as occupants. Say whether each tenant is liable for the full rent or only their share, and how a single tenant can leave without ending the whole agreement.
• Company leases: when an employer rents a flat for an employee, the company is the tenant and signs through an authorised signatory backed by a board resolution or authority letter. The employee's name goes in as the occupant.
• Furnished flats: attach a signed inventory with the condition of furniture and appliances, ideally with dated photos, and state how normal wear and tear is treated at exit.
• NRI landlords: an NRI landlord can sign through a power of attorney holder in India; tenants paying rent to an NRI must deduct TDS under the relevant income tax provisions, so check with a tax adviser before the first payment.
• Renewals: an 11-month agreement does not renew itself. Make a fresh agreement with fresh stamp duty before expiry, and record any rent increase agreed at renewal.

Getting these details right at the drafting stage costs a few extra minutes and saves long arguments at the end of the tenancy.

Mistakes that weaken a rent agreement

• Under-stamping: an agreement with less stamp duty than required can be impounded and needs a penalty before it is accepted as evidence.
• Wrong names: a landlord name that does not match the ownership record, or a tenant name that differs from Aadhaar.
• No inventory: without a list of fittings, deposit deductions at exit become a guess.
• Vague deposit refund terms: state how many days after handover the deposit is returned and what may be deducted.
• Cash rent without receipts: pay by bank transfer or UPI, or ask for monthly receipts.
• Signing a 12-month term without registering it.

If you are doing all of this without an agent, our rent agreement without broker guide adds a cost comparison against typical brokerage.

This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and change over time — always verify with a qualified professional or the official source before making a decision.

Written and reviewed by the Rent Agreement Generator editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.

← All articles